Even when official battles weren’t taking place, the wasteland were exceptionally dangerous. There were many other reasons why cultivators on both sides ended up wandering the desert.
There were those that were brazenly killing one another for their treasures. There were those that were fighting on the frontlines in order to breakthrough their cultivation bottlenecks. Regardless of their reasons, they all shared something in common: they all had the confidence that they would be able to prevail over cultivators of similar grade. Most of these cultivators were at Foundation Establishment stage with a few Core Formation cultivators mixed among them.
Each time a Core Formation cultivator appeared, the lower grade cultivators immediately kept their distance in fear that they would be caught in the crossfire.
As for Nascent Soul grade cultivators, they wouldn’t easily make an appearance in a small scale battle such as this one. That was why the Marquis’ group weren’t particularly vigilant when crossing through this area.
The distance of five thousand kilometers was something that was easily traversed in less than a day for a Nascent Soul cultivator. That was why the cultivators traveled at a relaxed pace. With Marquis Nanlong and the white-clothed old man leading the way, the rest of the party followed after them in a scattered manner.
They had passed by many low-grade cultivators along the way, completely unnoticed.
However, just as the party flew out for an hour, the white-clothed old man suddenly stopped.
Marquis Nanlong asked with surprise, “Brother Yun, what happened?” He had been taking turns with the white-clothed old man to keep a lookout with their spiritual sense.
The old man surnamed Yun narrowed his eyes and solemnly said, “There is a huge gale ahead of us. It is suspicious.”
“A huge gale? What do you mean? Isn’t a bit of wind normal?” Marquis Nanlong bafflingly asked. He then released his spiritual sense and probed the distance ahead of them.
Han Li and the others had clearly heard their words. After clearly hearing them, the party glanced at each other and released their own spiritual senses.
Although they had yet to truly enter the Moulan Plains, it was better to be careful. As they were all individuals with powerful spiritual senses, they may as well probe the situation themselves instead of relying on the word of another. As a result, each of them wore a bewildered expression.
The old woman sullenly said, “That wind isn’t merely suspicious. There is certainly something wrong with it. Such a gale cannot naturally occur.”
Chapter 689: The Appearance of Spell Warriors
Han Li’s spiritual sense discovered that there was a yellow gale surging across the horizon. It was over three hundred meters tall and carried both stone and sand. It was truly malevolent as if an evil dragon had sprung from the earth.
But since his spiritual sense was nearly on par with late Nascent Soul cultivators, he was able extend his spiritual sense part the fifty kilometer range of the other cultivators. With the Great Development Technique circulating through his body, his spiritual sense condensed and entered the sandstorm.
However, his spiritual sense grew dim after entering the sandstorm. He was only able to immerse his spiritual sense three hundred meters into the storm, but he was unable to see anything.
Marquis Nanlong grimaced and said, “Impressive. This should be the Moulan’s Wind Spirit Technique! When I had fought against a spell warrior in the past, they had used this world enveloping spirit technique. Once it is deployed, it is capable of block any probing and its violent sandstorm is capable of self protection and trapping enemies. It is truly troublesome. However, I’ve never seen it at such an astonishing scale. It seems thousands of times greater in scope. Strange.”
“A Moulan spirit technique?” The others’ expressions changed upon hearing him.
Wang Chan and Yan Ruyan both paled upuon hearing this. But since they had the weakest cultivation in the party, they didn’t dare to speak out of place.
The white-clothed old man solemnly said, “Brother Nanlong speaks true. Only spirit techniques are able to create such astonishing sandstorms. Moreover, from the might of the spirit technique, there are certain to be many spell warriors contained within it. We will not be able to breakthrough them with the strength of our current party.”
The old woman bewilderedly asked, “How is that possible? Why has the Moulan suddenly dispatched so many spell warriors?”
“Lady Tai, when was the last time we had ceasefire with the Moulan?” Wang Tiangu asked with an odd expression.
“It should’ve been about a hundred years ago. Does Brother Wang mean...” The old woman seemed to suddenly realize something.
Wang Tiangu wryly smiled and insipidly said, “About a hundred years ago... That should’ve been enough time for the Moulan to gather their strength.”
Marquis Nanlong wore an expression of helplessness and softly said,“Brother Wang speaks true. It should be time for the start of another war. Who knows how many cultivators will fall this time. But as chance would have it, we’ve run into the Moulan vanguard.”
The white-clothed old man sullenly said, “There are truly too many coincidences in this world, so this matter isn’t too shocking. However, we only have two options. We can return and avoid our encounter with the Moulan vanguard, biding our time for a more opportune moment to look for the treasure. After all, the treasure won’t be going anywhere, but the Moulan assault will certainly last for many years. We will not be able to return to the treasure in a short amount of time. Additionally, the world is constantly changing. It will be difficult to gather everyone once more after so much time had passed.”
The old woman shook her head and said, “There is no need to even consider it. We should definitely take the second option and break through the winds. However, the risk is truly too great. If there are only fearsome old ghosts lying within the sandstorm. It would be difficult for us to succeed. Could it be that there is no way of avoiding them?
The old man muttered to himself for a moment before solemnly saying, “I fear it is too late. If the Moulan fully commit to their attack, it won’t just be a vanguard. Even if we go around, we will still encounter them. But if it is just a matter of retaining our concealment as we enter, it shouldn’t be a problem if we sneak past their sides. So long as we get past the Moulan vanguard, we will be able to evade the main force of spell warriors with enough time. Then we will be able to do as we please in the defenseless Moulan Plains and allow us to make off with the treasure without any worries.”
The others discussed the old man’s proposal and felt that it was the only option. After all, it would take many more years before this opportunity arose once more if it were given up now. Of course, retreat couldn’t even be considered if they weren’t Nascent Soul cultivators. Their lifespans wouldn’t have been able to endure the wait.
Of course, before heading into the Moulan Plains, they each sent letter talismans to the closest Nine Nations Union stronghold to prevent them from being caught unprepared for the upcoming Moulan attack. This was considered something of an obligation given that they were cultivators of the Heavenly South.
Afterwards, the party of nine restrained their aura and concealed themselves as they stealthily flew off to the side, wishing to avoid the center of the sandstorm where the winds blew the most fierce.
Because Wang Chang and Yan Ruyan possessed weaker cultivation, Wang Tiangu had paid them particular consideration and covered them in a huge light barrier. A moment later, they disappeared from Han Li’s sight.
But when Han Li saw this, he sneered. With is spiritual sense, Wang Tiangu and his juniors couldn’t possibly escape his notice.
The dense sandstorm closed the fifty kilometer gap in an instant. It carried a faint pressure similar to that of demons. Before the sandstorm had arrived, tornados began to cut through the earth as they led the way. Fortunately, they had kept their distance from the center and were able to avoid the tornados as they
swept past them.
The larger tornadoes were over a thirty meters wide and while the smaller ones were only about ten meters wide. They each seemed to contain several spell warriors.
Han Li remained hidden in close proximity to them and was able to clearly sense them with his spiritual sense. The blurred, vague silhouettes within the tornadoes hadn’t discovered Han Li and company. They simply continued on their way.
Under the cold gaze of Han Li and company, they watched the spell warriors quietly go on their way.
Closely following after the tornadoes was the tremendous sandstorm. Standing at the very front, Marquis Nanlong’s expression changed as he warned the party with a voice transmission, “Not good! Be careful at the side!”
When Han Li heard this, his face revealed alarm.
A huge tornado that was about three hundred meters wide and unfathomably tall was tearing towards them from a distance. Such a huge tornado was certain to be controlled by many spell warriors. Could it be that someone had discovered them?
Han Li took a deep breath and couldn’t help but awaken his Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords. Although he had long heard of the grand reputation of spell warriors, he had never personally witnessed their might. However, he couldn’t bring himself to look forwards to this under the current circumstances.
The others were glancing at the huge tornado with vigilant expression. There were those that had hands glowing with faint light and those that had already prepared their magic treasures.
However, the huge tornado had swept close by them as if they hadn’t detected them, much to the relief of Marquis Nanlong and the rest of the party.
After a short delay, the vast sandstorm immersed all of them and their surroundings became dense with dark yellow. It was a rather stifling atmosphere.
Marquis Nanlong calmly shouted, “Be on guard. This sandstorm is strange. Do not release your spiritual sense and don’t stray too far either.”
Although the party members were able to easily disperse of the sand, it would reveal their movements. Fortunately, the yellow sand quickly blew past them quickly, providing them the cover they needed to carefully move forward close together.
However, after the time it took to finish a meal, Han Li felt that their was something amiss as he monotonously swept his gaze around.
Suddenly, Han Li blurred and he reappeared floating in the air.
Han Li’s sudden actions came as a shock to the rest of the party.
The old woman frowned and annoyedly asked, “Fellow Daoist Han, why did you stop?”
Han Li expressionlessly said, “Don’t you feel that something is amiss?”
“What do you mean?” The tan man blurred and he reappeared at Han Li’s side.
When Wang Tiangu and the white-clothed old man heard this, they glanced at each other for a moment before revealing an expression of bewilderment.
With an unsightly expression, Han Li said, “You Fellow Daoists should’ve been able to sense it without having me to say it. How is it that we’ve been in this sandstorm for so long and we’ve yet to encounter even a single spell warrior? Don’t tell me that the spell warriors have all gathered at the center of the sandstorm. Our surroundings have yet to change as well! You should all know what this means!”
The tan man wore an unsightly expression and muttered, “There is someone that secretly used a restriction against us.” His eyes brightly glinted as he swept past his surroundings.
After a moment of silence, Marquis Nanlong nodded his head and sullenly said, “Fellow Daoist Han should be telling the truth. I also feel that something is strange. It seems we’ve been truly detected and they’ve used a technique to deal with it. A fight is unavoidable!”
Chapter 690: Grand Sage
The other cultivators remained calm after hearing this. Each of them realized that spell restrictions were used to trap them because the enemy lacked the forces to engage them. However, they couldn’t remained trapped for too long, else the Moulan’s reinforcements would arrive.
The Nascent Soul cultivators each began to flicker with light, making full use of their abilities as they began to strike the restrictions surrounding them. As Han Li remained in the air, he waved his arm in passing, releasing three streaks of azure light from his hand. An instant later, the three streaks of azure light flew off into the distant winds of sand.
Rippling fluctuations began to appear under their strikes. In a flicker of yellow light, the restrictions began to tear as if they were made of thin paper.
The others were shocked at how easy this was. When Han Li saw this, his expression greatly changed and he hurriedly flew forward through the gap that opened. It was quite ordinary for a hastily placed restriction to be easily struck down. There was no need for hesitation.
Han Li’s blunt and sudden actions had shocked the others. But they immediately understood and closely followed after him.
Once they escaped, they still found themselves in winds filled with sand, but the stifling sensation of the restriction could no longer be felt. Han Li felt some relief from this and swept his spiritual sense around, wishing to regain his bearings before taking further action.
But at that moment, Han Li’s expression stirred and his eyes narrowed. As he motionlessly floated in the air, he stared off into a certain direction of the sand. His eyes pulsed with faint blue light in a demonic display. A moment later, his expression returned to normal.
As Marquis Nanlong caught up to Han Li, he noticed that Han Li was motionless. He bewilderedly swept his spiritual sense in the direction that Han Li was looking, and he discovered nothing strange. He bafflingly asked, “Fellow Daoist Han, what are you doing?”
Han Li turned his head towards the Marquis and calmly said, “Nothing, I was only pondering. Which direction should we go?”
“It is hard to make use of our spiritual sense in this cursed sandstorm, and the naked eye is hardly any better for making a decision. But just as it so happenes, I have a star alignment treasure that is suitable for the situation.” Initially scoffing at being asked, Marquis Nanlong reached to his waist and took out a faint red jade disk.
With the one hand holding at the jade disk, he formed an incantation gesture with the other. After muttering a cryptic incantation, he opened the hand with the incantation gesture and a golden light shot out from his palm, striking on of the talisman characters on the disk. The disk then began to shine with a weird red-gold light.
Han Li’s heart stirred and he took another glance at the magic treasure. There was marvelous designs made of golden starlight that shined from the plate that seemed to signify stars, the sun and moon, as well as other astrological symbols.
Han Li was entranced by the sight of it. The others also crowded around with curious expressions.
Marquis Nanlong wasn’t bothered by this and merely concentrated on the patterns shining on the jade disk. A short moment later, he put away the treasure with a flip of his hand and briefly said, “Follow me!” He then enveloped himself in a ball of golden light and shot off.
The rest of the party wordlessly followed after him. They were clearly confident in the Marquis’ judgement.
In a flash of black light, Wang Tiangu enveloped Wang Chan and Yan Ruyan and brought them along. However, when he passed by Han Li, the Ghost Spirit Sect elder seemed to faintly glance at him before calmly brushing past him.
Han Li returned the glance with a mysterious smile. He faintly saw that Wang Chan had lowered his head and didn’t dare to look in his direction in a rather meek fashion. On the contrary, the beautiful Yan Ruyan calmly turned her gaze towards Han Li for a short while with bright eyes before turning away.
Han Li soon found himself at the rear of the group. But with a careless smile, his body flashed with azure light as if about to set flight. But before that, he unconsciously turned his gaze to where he glanced previously and wore an odd expression. He then coldly chuckled and flew off.
In that instant, Han Li’s figure disappeared into the
sandstorm.
A short moment after Han Li disappeared, a flash of blinding yellow light shined from where he had been looking at. A huge dark hole that suddenly appeared from the ground where a huge shiny black insect had crawled out of.
This demon insect was astonishingly large and was about twenty meters long and twelve meters wide. Its body was in the shape of a disk. But what was most frightening about it was the dozens of dark yellow compound eyes spread on its head. There were also several slender horns on its head along with a pair of massive, incisive fangs that coldly glinted. There were also four transparent wings on its back that were gently fluttering.
Standing on top of this dreadful demon insect were three silhouettes of varying heights. One of them shined with blinding white light and another was enveloped in a strange dark green mist, obscuring his true form. As for the last figure, their body flickered with faint blue lightning as if they were a materialized god of lightning.
“Grand Sage, are we just going to allow them to leave? Is this not bad?” The silhouette covered in white light glanced in the direction that Han Li’s party disappeared in. His words carried a faint trace of worry.
The green mist figure coldly snorted and icily said, “How could an illusion formation possibly constrain them? Don’t forget that they are mostly Nascent Soul stage cultivators, characters at the same grade as us. Even the weakest two are still late Core Formation cultivators. It is delusional to think that our Yellow Sand Tribe could hope to restrain them.” His temperament seemed harsh.
“But how will we deal with the Heavenly Wind Tribe’s Sage Mu? He was the one who personally sent a message to have use block the group of cultivators to our greatest ability. The vanguard is under his tribe’s command for the time being. He should’ve already sent orders to gather the Grand Sages from the other tribes. Would it be better for us to unleash our tribe’s holy protection artifact, the Devilearth Banner? Even if we can’t cause the Nascent Soul cultivators much harm, it should be possible to trap them for the time being.” The white light silhouette raised the proposal with an anxious tone.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 370